March 2019

There was tension in the air at Wednesday nights Ocean Beach Town Council meeting as a couple dozen people apparently had attended to voice complains about people living in vans in their neighborhoods and the homeless in general.

But cooler heads prevailed as Mark Winkie, the OBTC president, commiserated with those upset while trying to guide their frustration into action ….
It was also announced that the police trailer in the OB Pier parking lot would be removed.

March 28 is the anniversary of a wild and crazy day in the history of Ocean Beach. It was the day in 1971 when a peaceful gathering in what’s now Collier Park of hundreds of Ocean Beach anti-Vietnam war activists, environmentalists and college students were charged by a platoon of baton-wielding San Diego police officers – resulting in what became known as the Collier Park Riot.

This most violent day in OB history came to become a significant watershed event in that same history and pushed Ocean Beach to become the community it is today.

Women surfers scored a big win in California last year when an obscure government commission decided it would only lease a public beach to the Mavericks global surf competition if men and women were awarded the same amount of prize money. Experts said the precedent could compel equal pay at marathons, bike races, skateboard contests—any athletic events on public land. …

Now a push to go further is opening a broader debate over how to advance equality for women in male-dominated sports—and whether all-female competitions should be open to men.

A federal jury unanimously ruled Wednesday that Monsanto was liable for causing a California man’s cancer and was ordered to pay more than $80 million in damages. The jury found Monsanto guilty of negligence and failing to adequately warn consumers of Roundup weed killer’s cancer risks.

Republicans are celebrating the cliff notes version of the Mueller investigation, which –we’re told– proves the President is not a Russian asset. While the other 16 investigations into Trumpworld continue, the administration has decided to intensify efforts to punish its enemies and/or move forward with its agenda (sometimes that’s the same thing).

Once upon a time in the city of San Diego a much-heralded and wondrous happening took place.

From a crowded field of mayoral candidates (including three sturdy Republicans–Nathan Fletcher, Bonnie Dumanis, Carl DeMaio), voters chose to elect a brash, iconoclastic, independent, politically progressive Democrat to become the city’s mayor. That person was Bob Filner. It was the first and only time in recorded history that an authentic liberal came to power in San Diego.

In perhaps the most significant game ever played in the Golden Gymnasium, it felt as if the Saint Martin’s Saints would never go away, as they found a way to cut the PacWest champion Sea Lions’ slimming lead down to just four points with nearly 15 seconds remaining.

The Mueller report is finally done. On March 23, Special Counsel Robert Mueller sent the confidential report of his 22-month investigation to Attorney General William Barr. Less than 48 hours later, Barr released a four-page letter outlining Mueller’s conclusions and jumping to one as well.

In response to Barr’s letter, Donald Trump claimed, “There was no obstruction, none whatsoever, and it was a complete and total exoneration.” But Mueller did not exonerate Trump of obstruction of justice.

Tom Gawronski just retired from a lengthy stint on the Ocean Beach Planning Board. He’s been chair of the advisory panel of volunteer community planners twice, he told me at a recent Planning Board meeting, and he’s been on the Board for years – the number is in the double-digits.

And, he mentioned with a twinkle in his eye, he might get back on it after a year. The Board’s Bylaws allow residents to return to the Board after being termed out after a vacation of a year. So, if there’s anybody who knows the in’s and out’s of community planning, it’s Tom.

A conservative scheme to build their cause by demonizing municipal employees has ended, likely costing local taxpayers tens of millions of dollars. The promised savings will now evaporate, plus 7% interest, unless you believe the people who say there will be a minimal cost. (ProTip: Don’t).

On Monday, California’s Fourth District Court of Appeal ordered the City of San Diego to financially compensate about 4,000 employees who don’t have pensions,

Had myself a smiley day
the other day
from the time I woke up
until the time
I called it a day.

Seemed like mostly everything
put a smile on my face:
the rain dropping gently
instead of flooding the place,
the sun peeking through the clouds,
promising a nicer day
later in the day
and my smile widened
as my day got underway,
beginning with a lyft ride
that had me feeling
warm and cozy inside,
glowing with pride

Mueller may not have found coordination between Trump and his people and Russia, but Trump is still facing a whole raft of investigations that are still on-going. There are at least eight federal criminal cases continuing in this post-Mueller environment. And then there’s all those Congressional committees …

At least 15 investigations in all. It’s way too soon for any Trumpistas to be popping the corks. Trump and his people are not exonerated by anybody.

In general, there are 2 types of investigations: those from within the executive branch – including the Department of Justice and the various offices of federal prosecutors – and those Congressional investigations being launched over wide-ranging inquiries on multiple topics beyond the Russian interference issue.

One of the things that makes community planning groups worthwhile is that they provide a launching site for ideas by regular folks. A one-woman crusader came to the Peninsula Community Planning Board’s regular monthly meeting last Thursday, March 21, with an interesting ordinance proposal to ban adults from children play areas unless accompanied by a child. Just the idea makes one smile. But, there was a serious reason behind her effort.

A Proposal to Ban Adults From Play Areas

Sandy Algra’s very young child was scratched by a bloody needle in a play area and now faces years of biannual testing for possible disease.

This is who we are now: a country where the criminal rich brazenly buy their kids’ ways into elite colleges while the sons and daughters of ordinary Americans scrape and claw to gain admission and then struggle to pay for the skyrocketing costs of higher education. As a recent Public Broadcasting Service story on the college admissions scandal put it:

The multimillion-dollar bribery scheme unveiled by the Justice Department this week has sparked equal parts outrage and incredulity over the astonishing lengths some wealthy parents have gone to get their children into the prestigious universities of their choice.

Attorney General William Barr has released his “summary” of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report – and it’s a doozy. I’ve just read the brief 4-page letter Barr sent to Congress today and since released to the public. (See letter below.)

First off, Mueller does not find any coordination or conspiracy between Trump and his people and Russia.

On the issue of obstruction of justice, however, Mueller punts, and while – according to Barr – does not exonerate Trump on other matters, left the decision of whether Trump did obstruct justice to Barr and Rob Rosenstein. And guess what? They – Barr and Rosenstein – have decided there’s not enough evidence for any obstruction of justice by Trump.

Originally published in the author’s own blog under the title of “Spectrum of Light.”

Light is not often the first thing that one thinks of when considering the built environment, but in fact, as to the photographer, light is a primary ingredient to the success of any site design.

In contrast to other professions that utilize light, the impact of light on the built environment is constantly in flux. In its complexity there are three types of light: continuous, absorptive and emissive. In the science of the light spectrum, the fact is that light behaves like a wave and is defined by its wavelength frequency. Simply put, light of different wavelengths is perceived as different colors.

Here are the election results from Thursdays vote for the Peninsula Community Planning Board. Chair Robert Goldyn was re-elected with the most votes (227). And other top vote-netters were Margaret Virissimo (202), Korla Eaquinta (194) and Brad Herrin (194).

Due to ties, there’s a recount “underway” for the 5th, 6th and 7th places. Voters could select up to 7 candidates when voting.

Here’s a fact: San Diego is a big small town in which–at one time or another–most everyone gets into bed with most everyone else (figuratively speaking, of course, but literally sometimes). So when we question who’s got easy access to whom, we’re not just being nosy.

There’s new momentum around the National Popular Vote movement, where states will award Electoral College votes to elect the president based on which candidate has won the most votes nationwide—instead of today’s state-by-state winner-take-all system.

“It does have new momentum, because there was a [recent] period starting with the second Obama election when Democrats bought into this blue-wall theory” that their political party had a lock on the White House, said John Koza, a former Stanford University scientist who co-founded the National Popular Vote project in 2006.

Board Election : The Peninsula Community Planning Board election is Thursday, March 21, 2019 from 4 to 8pm and is held at the Point Loma Library.

The following post is by Geoff Page, who is a candidate for the Board

By Geoff Page

The Peninsula Community Planning Board election is heating up as expected and is getting nasty. There is something of a Trumpian tone to the whole thing. People are flouting the election rules as if rules don’t apply to them and are resorting to tearing down election posters and putting up others. All this for a planning board election.

As related in last week’s Rag story about the PCPB Candidate Forum, there are a record number of candidates running for seven open seats and there is a concerted effort to take control of the PCPB.

The Union-Tribune reported yesterday on a lawsuit alleging sexual assault and ongoing harassment filed by a political consultant against San Diego Unified School Board Trustee Kevin Beiser. Later in the day, Voice of San Diego dropped a story based on weeks of investigation concerning three more accusations of sexual harassment.

I believe Beiser’s fall from grace has a silver lining for San Diego Democrats. Last night, the party proved it’s moved past the era of providing cover for malfeasance on the part of elected officials who happen to have a “D” beside their name, calling on Beiser to step down from his elected office. …

Beiser, who last year was president of the SDUSD Board, was first elected in 2010 and re-elected in November. He was widely expected to run for City Council next year.

A friend of mine gave me a gift card for Leucadia Pizzeria for my birthday and I thought it would be fun to use it with a good friend from Leucadia. He was going to meet me there and so we had two cars. When we pulled into the parking lot we found there were no parking places, but three spaces were taken up with Leucadia Pizzeria delivery vans. There was no available parking on the street so we went somewhere else.

“It’s the dirt!” they both say in unison. “The unique mix of dirt, sand and organic materials – that is what makes it the perfect dirt.”

You can see the little boys shining through the eyes of the men across from me – Jesse and Darren. These two have been active in Famosa Open Space pump track at different points over a few decades and with the same core group. Now they are a part of the larger group working together to save the whole space.

What I am about to share is a small snapshot in the infinite time span over which Famosa Open Space has existed in its current state.

Who knows what was here before 1909! What we do know is that it’s all about the dirt.

As a teacher, I have always hoped that things I have said or written would have a positive influence on my students. As a journalist I know that some of the things I say will anger some; align myself with others; and not make any difference to still others.

Last week I wrote a story for the OB Rag re: the potential scam that I was involved in, namely a “Secret Shopping” experience that seemed that it could be legitimate, but deep down I knew wasn’t.

Our local NBC channel read the story and asked if they could do an interview with me re: the article. They came out today, Monday, March 18th, and the interview will be broadcast today at 4:30 pm and again at 6:00 pm.

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